Eating the right kind of food and drinking plenty of water has a huge impact on the way your skin looks, feels, and how well it copes with the passing of time. Augmenting your diet with foods rich in antioxidants (found in fruit and vegetables) will prevent premature aging.
Appropriate and regular exercise is also a great anti-aging tool as it forces a natural release of the human growth hormone (HGH) with all its anti-aging benefits. It also helps skin to stay supple and smooth, keeps joints flexible and aids circulation.
Human growth hormone (HGH) is naturally produced by the pituitary gland. Research has shown that as we age the amount of HGH decreases, contributing to the overall picture of accelerated or premature aging. Specialist doctors can prescribe HGH in order to control the more pathological aspects of aging such as osteoporosis, apathy, reduced immunity, increase fat deposition and uncontrolled cholesterol balance. As an anti-aging treatment HGH has numerous benefits
which include;
- Improvements in the cholesterol balance
- A shift in body composition from fat to muscle
- Improvement in skin health and thickness
- Boosting of the immune system
- Increased stamina
- Improved bone mineral deposition
The pro-active use of high SPF (sun protection factor) sunscreen is a worthwhile investment if you want to keep your skin looking young and healthy irrespective of your age or skin type. It is also important to check the expiration date of your sunscreen, as the protective ingredients degrade over time.
You might think it is a good idea to take a stroll through the countryside everyday but you should consider the impact of extreme weather conditions on your face. Cold temperatures, wind chill, snow, freezing rain and such like will end up making you look like someone who’s just got back from an arctic expedition – not pretty! You may not be able to avoid this if your profession requires you to endure these types of conditions but you can prevent the dry, irritated, wrinkled skin look by using plenty of moisturiser and covering your face with a scarf.
Smoking has a deleterious effect similar to overexposure to the sun in that it makes skin look old, tired and unhealthy! Needless to say the sooner you stop smoking, the better it is for you.A lot of people would argue that they drink alcohol in moderation but the cumulative effects over time are not always predictable or expected. Sensible drinking advice is based on men drinking no more than 3-4 units a day and women limiting themselves to 2-3 units a day (where a unit is equal to 10mls of pure alcohol). This is also based on either sex having at least two to three days a week without drinking any alcohol at all.
Irrespective of what you drink; beer, cider, alco-pops, champagne or vintage wine, alcohol contains numerous calories so weight gain is always a problem. Alcohol within the blood stream causes expansion of the blood vessels ultimately leading to facial and body thread veins, under-eye bags and the notorious ‘bulbous drinker’s nose’ – none of which make you look any younger. Poor skin health, brittle nails and hair loss are other complications which result from the negative effects of alcohol on the digestive system. After reading this you will probably not need your doctor’s advice to slow down on your drinking!
Stress generated from work, adverse life circumstances and bad luck is related to the gradual degeneration of body metabolism and usually tells on our faces in the form of dark circles around the eyes and new wrinkles and facial lines. De-stress exercises, sleep therapy and stress management form part of the anti-aging philosophy and are helpful in controlling stress.
These preventative anti-aging methods will yield their greatest benefits if they are used to pre-empt the onset of premature aging. What would be the point of adopting the preventative approach when you are 80? Wouldn’t you benefit more in your younger years?
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